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The Prodigal Son
"The Prodigal Son" is the two-hour second season premiere of Miami Vice. The episode premiered on September 27, 1985. Summary Crockett and Tubbs head to New York to track down drug dealers that kill Federal agents. Plot In Bogota, DEA agent Henry Drummond takes Crockett and Tubbs to a hideout of the local military. They have captured an informant who works for the Revilla Brothers drug cartel, and and torturing him to find out their flight schedules. When they arrive, they determine the Revillas' plane will be leaving out of the swamp, but they don't know which one. The three cops find a torture chamber where the informant is subjected to electric shocks when he doesn't talk. Tubbs tries to simply talk with the informant but is thwarted by the soldiers; however Tubbs was able to catch "Cross of Jesus" before Drummond gets them out. As soon as they leave the hut the informant is executed. At OCB, the Vice and DEA agents discuss the clue to the Revilla's drop. Crockett mentions that years earlier he busted a Colombian who said his drop was called "Christ's Crossing", and they determine it's the same location, in the Everglades. Castillo agrees to join DEA on the bust. They go to the Everglades and observe a boat bringing drugs to a plane. The police move in and a shootout results, killing most of the drug gang. An extensive search fails to turn up Miguel Revilla, who escapes. After the bust, Crockett and Tubbs go to a DEA party held by Drummond, but when they get there gunshots ring out. Drummond and two other agents are killed, Gina is badly wounded and rushed to the hospital, and Miguel - one of the shooters - escapes yet again. Gina has surgery but it is too early to tell her condition. Miami DEA Commander Burr (Bill Smitrovich) says the Revillas are not the typical drug dealers - they grow, buy, import, market, and ship with profits all the way. They have reloacted to New York, where two more DEA agents have been killed. Burr wants the Revillas flushed out and eliminated. However the DEA's security has been violated, possibly by a Revilla operative gaining access to DEA files on all their agents, and they recommend that two Miami Vice cops become big-time drug dealers in New York to lure the Revillas. Crockett and Tubbs go to see Newton Blade (Gene Simmons), the "Sears and Roebuck" of controlled substances, to locate a New York contact for a load of cocaine that never made the police lockup, and he recommends Jimmy Borges. Crockett and Tubbs go to the Big Apple and meet up with NYPD Lieutenant Pearson (Charles Dutton), who is very uncooperative until Crockett makes a phone call, which causes Pierson to suddenly become very cooperative. Tubbs goes looking for his former flame, Valerie Gordon, but only leaves a message. A hooker (Annie Golden) and a very blue man (Kevin Anderson) are causing trouble in the office until Tubbs puts the blue man out. Meanwhile, Jimmy Borges (Penn Jillette) is apologizing to Miranda (Zoe Tamerlis) about missing some "party favors." Crockett and Tubbs track Jimmy down at a diner, and Jimmy initially refuses to help until they mention the large load of cocaine they have to sell, with a fifty key cut for Jimmy. They meet at Club Delirious and get acquainted with Frank Sacco (James Russo) and his "girlfriend"... Valerie (Pam Grier), and Crockett speaks with Sacco while Tubbs and Valerie dance. Sacco is not "hungry" for cocaine because of the Revillas' command of the market. Valerie tells Tubbs about the NYPD investigation of Sacco, and her role in it, while Tubbs tells her of DEA's problems with the Revillas. Sacco leaves, and Valerie joins Crockett, who thanks him for helping her after what went down in Miami. While Tubbs and Valerie get re-acquainted, Crockett walks the streets of New York. Borges meets the Revillas, who warn him not to do business with "the hotshots from Miami". While Valerie leaves Tubbs after dancing, Crockett meets a woman that caught his eye at Delirious in another bar, Margaret (Susan Hess). She initially plays hard to get, but they share a cab for a night of lovemaking. Crockett wakes up the next morning in her studio, with a man (Peter Allen) commenting about Crockett's "appearance", but Margaret is gone and his gun is missing. Tubbs, meanwhile, has found Valerie's (and Sacco's) apartment, but doesn't move in. Jimmy meets up with Crockett and Tubbs, reluctant to do any deals due to the Revillas. They shop around all the distributors Jimmy knows, but no one is buying, saying they already have suppliers (Revillas), including a transvestite pusher (Charles Ludlam) and his partner (Everett Quinton) who don't want to cross the Revillas, at any price. Jimmy gives up and leaves, and NYPD suddenly shows up to acost them, with Pearson gloating that the "hotshots from Miami" aren't getting anywhere. Crockett and Tubbs concoct a plan to disrupt the Revillas' supplies. They tell Jimmy of their plan at Club Delirious and that they would increase his cut to 50% of the gross. Jimmy is still reluctant, but then the transvestite and his partner show up for an ambush. Crockett and Tubbs shoot both down, and Jimmy, having no choice, tells them the Revillas' supply is delivered in Jackson Heights. Crockett goes to Margaret's studio to get his gun back, and she tempts him into making dinner plans. Tubbs goes back to Valerie's place and confronts her about her role with Sacco. Valerie says he's good to her and she will move on him when she gets the order. Tubbs cannot understand what she's waiting for and leaves. Crockett wakes up in Margaret's bed (while she's on the phone with someone) and they make small talk. Crockett and Tubbs track down the Revilla's shipment, steal it, and blow up their warehouse. Esteban Revilla (Miguel Piñero) is angered by this and decides to set up a meet with Crockett and Tubbs. New York DEA Commander Rene (Anthony Heald) is infuriated by this turn of events and denounces Crockett and Tubbs as cowboys out to start a drug war. Miami DEA wants the operation to continue, but New York DEA and NYPD, attempting to take over the investigation themselves, refuses to help them, leaving Crockett and Tubbs out to dry. While Valerie watches Sacco have a meeting with Margaret and another man, Crockett and Tubbs go to see Jimmy, but they find him shot dead, and hitmen waiting for them. After a gunfight they split up as they are forced to flee from who they suspect to be Sacco's hitmen. Tubbs storms into Valerie's apartment, demanding she tell him why Sacco tried to kill them, and who turned Sacco onto them. Before Valerie can say anything, Sacco emerges and tries to kill Tubbs, who in turn shoots Sacco. Tubbs is indifferent that he's blown a three-year investigation which never made a move against Sacco, but Valerie grabs a gun and throws Tubbs out, telling him to "talk to Crockett's friend Margaret" if he wants to know what happened. Crockett and Tubbs confront Margaret (Tubbs found her number in Sacco's address book, backing Valerie's claim) and she reveals she is an information gatherer for anyone, business dealers, etc, but never intended to fall in love with the mark (Crockett). She refers them to a Wall Street banker named J.J. Johnston (Julian Beck) who, after reciting Crockett's and Tubbs' financial and credit histories, tells them his bank loaned a large sum of money to the Revillas and if they don't keep their loan agreement his bank would be devastated, which is why he and others like him are making sure that law enforcement doesn't stop the dealers from meeting those obligations. Crockett and Tubbs load up their weapons and drugs and head for the meet with the Revillas. Just as the Revillas start to get suspicious, Valerie shows up and a shootout entails. Everyone but Esteban is shot down; he escapes to a helicopter with Crockett in pursuit. Crockett empties his gun at the helicopter, which crashes in flames. Valerie and Tubbs make love, while Crockett packs up and heads to the airport for the flight to Miami. Tubbs then runs down (thinking he's late) and meets Crockett at the airport. They arrive back in Miami, everyone acting as if they never left, except for Gina, who is expected to make a full recovery. Cast *Don Johnson as Metro-Dade Detective James "Sonny" Crockett *Philip Michael Thomas as Metro-Dade Detective Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs *Saundra Santiago as Metro-Dade Detective Gina Calabrese *Michael Talbott as Metro-Dade Detective Stan Switek *John Diehl as Metro-Dade Detective Larry Zito *Olivia Brown as Metro-Dade Detective Trudy Joplin *Edward James Olmos as Metro-Dade Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo Guest Stars *Peter Allen as Man in Gallery *Kevin Anderson as Blue Wacko *Julian Beck as J.J. Johnston *Charles S. Dutton as NYPD Lieutenant Pearson *Annie Golden as Prostitute at police station *Pam Grier as NYPD Detective Valerie Gordon *Anthony Heald as DEA Commander Rene *Susan Hess as Margaret *Penn Jillette as Jimmy Borges *Charles Ludlam as Transvestite Pusher *Everett Quinton as Homosexual Pusher *Miguel Piñero as Esteban Revilla *James Russo as Frank Sacco *Gene Simmons as Newton Windsor Blade *Bill Smitrovich as DEA Commander Burr *Zoe Tamerlis as Miranda Co-Starring *Paul Calderon as Gabriel *Giannina Facio as Model *Luis Guzman as Miguel Revilla *Michael Kell as Levine *Noberto Kerner as Colombian Officer *Jorge Gil as DEA Agent Henry Drummond *Ramon Franco as Bustos *John Morrow as Margaret's Man *Barbara Joseph as Miss Bracken *Omar Khayat as Valet *Debby L. Rouse as Honey #1 *Donna Lynn Rouse as Honey #2 Notes * This episode, like the pilot "Brother's Keeper" and the series finale "Freefall" (also the final two hour episode), is aired in syndication as two parts instead of a single two hour episode. Part II starts when Crockett and Tubbs meet Jimmy in Club Delirious to discuss their plan to steal the Revilla's supplies. * "The Prodigal Son" was released in the late 1980s on VHS as a standalone episode called Miami Vice II: The Prodigal Son. * Pam Grier would return in the Season 5 "lost episode" "Too Much, Too Late". * This is the only time you see all ''the OCB main characters in police uniforms, not in confiscated/street clothes. * Miguel Pinero, who played Crockett's and Tubbs' arch-nemesis Calderone, plays a Revilla brother in this episode. His hair was longer and wears sunglasses to differentiate himself from his Calderone persona. * Jan Hammer's short music piece (starting after the informant is killed) is played every time a player (either on the good side or bad) is killed, and after Crockett and Tubbs blow up the Revilla's supply warehouse. * With 14 different songs used, this episode uses the most pop songs of any in the series. * The stock shots of New York at the beginning include the World Trade Center, Trump Tower and Times Square. The scene with the helicopter has the WTC as the backdrop. * Penn Jillette's comedy/magic partner, Teller, appeared in Season 4's "Like A Hurricane". * Julian Beck makes his only television appearance in this episode. Despite Crockett's vow to take him down (possibly an attempt to set up Johnston as a recurring villian a la Esteban Calderone), Johnston does not appear again due to Beck's death just two weeks prior to the premiere of this episode. * Ken Ober (1957-2009) played an uncredited role as a taxi driver that picks up Crockett and Margaret. He would gain notoriety (along with Colin Quinn from ''Saturday Night Live and Kari Wuhrer from General Hospital) as host of the classic 1980s MTV game show Remote Control. * Bill Smitrovich, who played Crockett's informant partner in "Brother's Keeper" pops back up as the head of the DEA in this episode. * Bill Smitorvich also played the part of Lloyd Bowman in Michael Mann's Manhunter alongside fellow Miami Vice guest stars Dennis Farina (from "One Eyed Jack", "Lombard" and "World Of Trouble"), Kim Griest (from "Nobody Lives Forever"), Michele Shay (from "Theresa") and Jim Zubiena (from "Calderone's Return (Part I)"), as well as Miami Vice regular Michael Talbott. * Scenes from this episode were used in the music video for "Miami Vice Theme" by Jan Hammer. * A continuity goof occurs in the bar when the two hitmen attempt to kill Jimmy Borges, Crockett and Tubbs. Crockett's Detonics Combatmaster only carries six rounds, yet Crockett is somehow able to squeeze of thirteen rounds without changing magazines. * This, "Brother's Keeper", and "Freefall" are the only feature-length episodes that are not split into two parts on the Miami Vice DVD collection. Every other episode that was originally feature-length ("Calderone's Return" and "Golden Triangle", all from the first season) are split into two regular episodes. Music *"Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)" by Billy Ocean (Crockett and Tubbs on Newton Blade's boat) *"Glad" by Traffic (Crockett and Tubbs first meet Jimmy for breakfast) *"The Pleasure Seekers" by The System (In Club Delirious) *"Tell It Like It Is" by Aaron Neville (Tubbs and Valerie dancing) *"You Belong To The City" by Glenn Frey (Crockett walking streets and sitting in Club Delirious after escaping Sacco's hitmen) *"Many Rivers To Cross" by Joe Cocker (Valerie leaves club after dancing with Tubbs) *"Pride (In The Name Of Love)" by U2 (Crockett meets Margaret) *"Do You Believe In Love" by Huey Lewis and The News (Margaret and Crockett catch cab) *"White Stuff" by Fashion (Jimmy, Crockett and Tubbs going around NYC) *"Good Night, Ladies" by Lou Reed (Meeting with transvestite dealer) *"Goodbye Girl" by Go West (Crockett, Tubbs and Jimmy in Club Delirious) *"Windswept" by Bryan Ferry (Crockett gets his gun from Margaret) *"Rubbermiro" by Liquid Liquid (Crockett and Tubbs escape Sacco's hitmen) *"Take Me Home" by Phil Collins (Tubbs and Valerie in bed, Crockett getting ready for return to Miami) Quotes *"Welcome to the third-world!" -- Drummond to Crockett and Tubbs in Bogota *"Vietnam, Cambodia, Columbia, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, Everglades... bet I've soaked more swamp than Elvis!" -- Crockett hiding in the Glades waiting for the Revillas *"Miami might be paradise, but now you're looking into the core of civilization!" -- Tubbs to Crockett about New York City *"Are you crazy, we're looking into gridlock! -- Crockett in response *"That's Tubbs, T-U-B-B-S, Tough, Unique, Bad, Bold, and Sassy!" -- Tubbs leaving a message for Valerie *Crockett: "If the supplier can't deliver..." Tubbs: "Then the Revillas' customers start to shiver!" *"That was major 'uncool''" -- Crockett to Margaret about taking his gun *"I can't touch you, I know that, too many roadblocks, politics, favors, but you're dirty, ace, and I'm '''patient!" -- Crockett to Johnston Category:Miami Vice Season 2 Episodes